Last night I came up with these projects for March's club. All projects use the March Word Puzzle set. Nothing fancy, just some fun, simple cards. Enjoy :)
Calendar page/layout page 1
Paper Garden papers: Blush/Sweet Leaf/Petal
Layout page 2
Card 1--Happy Easter
Colors: Blush, Petal and Sweet Leaf
Card2--Lucky
colors: Clover Meadow and white
Card 3--Happy Spring
Colors: Blush and Sweet Leaf
Card 4--Bloom
Colors: Blush and Sweet Leaf
P.S. It has come to my attention that having music come blaring out when you click on a page can be a little annoying. Since I certainly don't want anyone irritated or knocked out of their computer chair ;), I changed my music playlist so that it doesn't automatically start. I love having it on here, because I like to listen while I surf the net, but I totally understand that it's not for everyone. However, if you want, you can still click play over in my sidebar and enjoy my tunes, so rock on :)
Last night I taught a class on resist stamping. Here were the cards we made and some brief instructions:
Card 1: Wax Paper Resist
It took me a long time to try this technique because I was scared of the iron--LOL! It is such an easy and fun technique:
Wax Paper Resist
You need glossy paper or cardstock (I used regular cardstock here), wax paper, and an iron.
Crumple up the wax paper and then set between the glossy sides of the glossy paper.
Take an iron at medium heat and iron over the paper for between 10 and 30 seconds.
Then run an inked brayer (in this case Orchid Bouquet) over your cardstock
you can also use sponges or direct to paper inking for your color.
Card#2 Versamark Resist
For this card, you will need glossy paper because I couldn't get it to work on cardstock
Stamp your images (in this case the larger circles) in Versamark
Either let dry a couple of minutes or heat set.
Brayer over paper with ink (Garden Green)
It may take a minute or two for your images to appear
Last, I took a smaller circle in New England Ivy and stamped over the top and heat set
Card #3 Embossed
First stamped the eggs and "Easter" in Versamark and emboss with Clear powder
Then use a sponge to color over the card in Baby Pink, Amythest, and Buttercup
Last take a paper towel or sponge and rub the color off the embossed images to make them pop
Card #4 Versamark Combo (at least it was supposed to be)
Use Glossy paper. First, stamp the large flower in Versamark and emboss it in Clear
Then I stamped another flower in Versamark which was suppoed to turn out like the circles in card # 2, but didn't show up. I think the yellow might have been too light of a color--don't know.
Next brayer in Sunkiss Yellow over the whole card
Then stamp flowers in Spring Iris and Pink Carnation and sponge over them with those same colors to get the tie-dyed effect for the background
Last, rub a sponge or paper towel over the embossed images to make them pop.
PS--I used a sponged to ink the flower for this card too :)
We had the most awesome weekend! For those that don't know, my sister is a lighting tech on the Billy Joel tour. She was going to get us tickets for the Anaheim show, but I couldn't get a babysitter. Saturday morning I got a text from her saying that she got four tickets so we could bring the boys too. How awesome is that?!?!
When we got there, she also got us backstage passes (no we didn't get to meet Billy, but we got an awesome tour). The boys favorite part was getting to see the piano underneath the stage. Austin now tells anyone who will listen about how the piano is on an elevator and it comes up through the floor. She even had these passes made up for the boys with their names on them. Everyone kept asking how little boys got backstage passes.
The show was fabulous--almost 2 1/2 hours long! Luckily my sis got earplugs for the boys because we were right up front and it was loud. Both boys enjoyed it, but Brendan was the most enthusiastic. Every time he hears Piano Man or We Didn't Start the Fire. He gets a big smile and says "Billy Joel is so fun". Mommy has to agree--I've always loved Billy Joel! I took a few pictures, but they're on a throw away camera, so I haven't gotten them developed yet. I'll share when I do.
Our weekend didn't end there, though. Even though that would have been more than enough excitement, we had promised to take Austin to Medeival Times as his birthday present. Well this was the last weekend of kids go free, so Sunday we headed over there. Mike complained about how much it cost us (about $140 when all was said and done), but it was a lot of fun. Other than the near emergency room visit of Brendan getting his leg stuck int he chair, the boys had fun. Mike and I did too. Probably not something we'll do again, at least not for a long while, but fun :)
Here's a few pics.
We were in the Yellow Knight's section. Don't you think he looks like Rachel's boyfriend Tag from Friends?
These two I paid (gasp!) $20 for, but they were so cute, I couldn't resist! The scans aren't the greatest since I can't get them out of the folder they put them in.
I posted this on the VC blog I'm a design team member for, but I thought some of you might benefit from it too. I love this technique: it's so fun and easy!
Supplies:
Toothbrush with straight bristles (you can trim them if need be)
Chocolate, Bamboo or Cocoa re-inker
Paper Plate
Bamboo cardstock
Black ink pen
Steps:
1) Cut a piece of bamboo cardstock (or any light color). I actually use a 12 x 12 or 8 1/2 x 11 and cut it up for multiple projects
2)Squeeze chocolate and/or bamboo re-inkers onto a flat surface (plate) and dip the toothbrush and swipe it across the paper. You may want to blot on side of the plate or a paper towel before swiping on paper, so you don't end up with a big blob.
3) I did all mine with just Chocolate. If you want more shading, you can add Bamboo as well. First swipe the dark color and add swipes of the light color.
I didn't have any pics of this step with browns, but here it is with Blush:
**at this point you have a fun background by itself--I like using this with tone on tone, as in the Easter card here
4) Using a ruler and a black marker, add 1" stripes and then randomly add a horizontal line. Add dots above and below the horizontal line.
Viola! You have faux wood. I love that this technique can be masculine or feminine depending on how you use it.
I finally had some time to play today, so I took up some of the challenges I've seen out there lately.
First, I had to play with my new Sweet N Sassy stamps--LOVE these penguins! I did this for Korin's February sketch challenge--a lot of layers, but I love the way it turned out. I used SEI papers with my penguins.
Then I did a card for Nona's Silhouette and pop of color challenge. I used my Bellas and Hollyhock for my color.
I then pulled out the the colors for Marjorie's challenge. This card is simple, but works for a masculine card--something I always have trouble with.
Last, I tried my hand at a couple of cards using Christine's sketch challenge. The first I used the same colors as Marjorie's since they were out. I used Rough and Tumble scraps and Stickease.
Then I needed a baby card, so I pulled out pastel colors for this one. I really like this sketch and will definitely put it in my favorites.
Ok, first of all, yesterday I went to check my mail and boy was I surprised to find not one, but TWO handmade cards in my mailbox. Thank you to Sparkle and Marjorie for making my day. As the only person in my family that crafts, it just makes me so happy to be on the receiving end of a handcrafted beauty :)
Secondly, I have been tagged now three times with this tag, so I'd better post it--LOL! Actually, I am again, feeling loved to have received this: It's called a "Blog Blessing". The idea behind this tag game is different from other tag games. Rather than look inwardly, we are to look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for three blog friends. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to do so. In addition, be sure to go to the blog of those you are blessing and leave a comment on their blog to be sure they check yours!
Ok, since I was tagged by Sparkle, Marjorie and Kathi, three of my favorite bloggers, who all inspire me every day, I'll have to choose others: Definitely, Kristy, who not only posts such fabulous things on her own blog, but is always leaving wonderful, nice comments on mine. It always makes me smile when I see a comment from her. My second person will be my friend Sarah, who hasn't updated her blog much lately because she is superwoman. Seriously, she goes to school, works and is a wonderful mom to 3 kids. She is my hero :) For my third person, I'll tag Nona. She's new to blogging, but has been an artwork inspiration to me for a while now. You have to see her GORGEOUS wedding album on her blog--makes me want to re-do mine! There are so many blogs and peopls out there that inspire me--you can see that in my sidebar.
I also want to say a special thanks to all of you who stop by and especially those of you who leave comments. It really does mean a lot.
And while I'm feeling all mushy, have you heard this song? If you don't like country I apologize, but I heard this song today for the first time and it made me cry.
Well, we've just had two 3-day weekends in a row here, and I for one am ready to get back to a normal schedule. I love having my family home for three days, but everything gets all out of whack--KWIM? Plus we didn't even do anything Sunday or Monday--literally didn't even leave the house. I was going a little stir crazy last night, so I did run to Michaels and Staples, but that was it. I did enjoy being lazy and spending time together--I don't think the Wii ever got turned off though, so probably better we return to school and work--LOL!
On the bright side, I did have time to get my stamp of the month swap done. Here's my take on March's Stamp--Simple Beauty. I used my new Bind It All to make the holes to thread the ribbon through. It was a lot of work to make 12 of these, but I love the way they turned out. I used the Paper Garden papers and the colors are: Buttercup, Blush, Sweet Leaf and Petal.
Here's one of the layouts from the CTMH conference/regionals I went to a couple of weeks ago. I still haven't added pictures to the other layouts yet.
I had a fabulous weekend, which still isn't over, since we're all home today too. Anyway, went to the Scrapbook Expo with my cousin, Cheri on Saturday--so much fun. At least until I got lost on the way home, but that's nothing new. We took some fantastic Rusty Pickle classes--three to be exact. The first was a "Smile" album. We were a tad disappointed that it was so girly--we thought it would be more neutral (we both only scrap our guys!), but it is so stinkin' cute, that I love it! Here's a few pics--I don't want to bore you with all the pages, but you get the idea.
Then we took the "Boy's Life" album class--perfect for my boys! Love the papers and colors!
The last class was huge! I didn't even come close to finishing it. It was a 12x12 calendar. Silly us, we thought album, totally missed the "calendar" part of the class description. However, we had lots of extra paper, so mine is becoming an album instead. I don't have any pics, because, like I said, I didn't even come close to finishing. We were about scrapped out in that class, so we left early to squeeze in more shopping!
I didn't spend TOO much money. We made a pact at the begininning of the day not to let each other buy paper, unless we could justify exactly how and when we were going to use it. Last year we both bought tons of paper that we still haven't used. Without buying paper, I found that there wasn't much I wanted. However, I did get a toy I'd been eyeing for a while--a Bind it All. I was going to wait and get it from Erin, but they were offering too great a deal to pass up. I didn't buy any chipboard/album-making materials, so I'll be ordering those soon. I want to make a scrapbook purse that I saw at Vegas Regionals. As soon as I find all the materials, I'll make one and post.
Overall, we had a great day, and I always enjoy spending time with my cousin--she and I always have fun together. I wish she wasn't two hours away so we could get together and scrap more. I'll leave you with one last image. I found these fabulou buttons at the Rusty Pickle booth. I loved the sayings and had to buy them!
I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband! He's my very own McDreamy! He's such a great husband and father! We don't make too big a deal about Valentine's Day, but here's my little ways of showing him I love him this year.
I made these from 8x8 acrylic that I had fun decorating. I saw them yesterday at the scrapbook store, and I knew I had to try it! He has cubicle walls that I figured these would be light enough to hang from, so I tried to make these less fru-fru than I would have if they were for me. I like the way they turned out, although I might have changed a couple things if I had them to do over again. Overall, not bad for my first try :)
Then, here's the card I made. I'm pretty sure I've made him a card with this saying before, but oh well. The man loves Starbucks, and I'm just not clever enough to come up with more coffee sayings--LOL!
I'm giving him a few other things too, but these are the handmade goodies.
I'm hoping to share some fun lovey dovey artwork later (if I get it finished!). In the meantime, I was browsing e-cards and took this quiz. Those who know me, and my love of Grey's Anatomy, will get a kick out of this--I actually laughed out loud! I have had a thing for Patrick Dempsey since "Can't Buy Me Love"!
Wow--I can't believe I haven't posted for 5 days. Actually, I can--things have been crazy around here. We had family in town all weekend and Austin's birthday party on Saturday. I can't believe he's 6 already! Where does the time go?! On top of it, we've all been sick. Finally coming out of it, except for this horrible cough--ugh. My ribs feel all bruised from coughing.
Anyway, haven't done much creating. I want to finish up my goodies from the CTMH Regionals I went to, but haven't had a chance. This week doesn't look good either. I have a Valentine workshop tonight and tomorrow night, and basketball on Thursday night. SOmetime in there I have to do Valentines with Austin. Always something around here! Saturday I'm off to the Scrapbook Expo in Orange County with my cousin. We signed up for some fabuloous classes, so I can't wait. Busy, busy busy! If I don't post much, you'll know why.
One more thing, as many of you know, since moving to California almost 5 years ago, we have been praying for a chance to get back to the Northwest. We loved Idaho, but were told up front that positions with Mike's job there are few and far between (as in someone must retire to get an opening). With that in mind, we've focused on the Seattle area. Well Mike called me over a week ago to tell me that they opened up positions all over the country, including two in the Seattle area. I went online to look and called him back and said, "That's well and good, but you'd better be applying for the one in Boise, Idaho!" Yep, an opening there. We're putting in for it (as well as the two in Washington), and now we're waiting to find out. This would be a dream come true for us. As much as we will miss all of the family and friends here in California, this is what we really want. We love Boise, and more importantly, it's where my mom is. That would mean scrapping with my mom again, free babysitting, lots of grandma time for the kids, nice house in an area great for raising kids. Plus one of my brothers is there, my one sister is hoping to move back there in the next year and my other sister is in Portland, Oregon.
For this to happen, lots of things need to fall into place. We need to get the job first, and sell this house (the scariest part in this market, but I have faith in my realtor friend Angie--she's the best), find a new house up there. Plus, Mike will be taking a pay cut due to locality pay, so I may need to go back to work, at least part time. I did find out that even though my Idaho teaching credential expired, I can get a new one right away, which is good. All worth it, if we can make the move. So, long story short, if you could say a little prayer or think positive thoughts for us, I would really appreciate it. I just feel in my heart this is the right thing for us.
After my very scientifc way of asking my almost 6 year old to pick a number, I am happy to announce that the winner of the blog candy is...drumroll please...Kristy! Congratulations!!! Please emal me here with your address and I'll get your goodies to you. It may take a few days for me to get to the post office, but how exciting, I've never mailed anything to Australia before--awesome!
If you all want to see some FABULOUS Valentine's artwork, go here and check out all the gorgeous artwork submitted! Thanks to everyone for entering. Come back soon for some new contests and challenges--I've got some fun ones up my sleeve :)
Ok, I've now been tagged twice, so I'd better get with it :)
These are the rules: You must post the rules before you give your answers.You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details.
Here goes--my middle name is Michelle. I actually had to get out the Thesaurus--two E's and two L's?!
M-messy, yep I'll admit it. This doesn't always go over well with my ex-Navy husband, but I can't help it. I always tell people, it's clean under the clutter--LOL! Proof in point--here's what my scrap area looks like during a project--how I even work there is amazing.
I--Inky--of course! Mike told me that he's going to get me personalized license plates that say "inky fingers". I always know it's been a sad day if by the end of it, my fingers are clean
C--Creative--it's funny because I used to think myself the least creative person in the world--then I found scrapping and later, stamping.
H--Happy--I really am in a good place in my life right now. I feel blessed to be where I am at this moment. I'm also Hopeful that the change we have been praying for will comethrough in the next few months. I know a bit vague, but I want it to be a sure thing before we announce it to the world.
E--educated--I have always loved school and learning new things. Lately, my focus has been scrapping/stamping related--new patterns, techniques etc, but I do miss being in school. I'm a huge history buff and would like to go back and get my Master's Degree in Creative Writing. Hopefully soon :)
L--loving--I try to be the best person I can be and be loving and caring to everyone around me. I love to do little things for other people to show them that I care. One of the reasons I love crafting so much.
L--late--I truly live by the saying, "If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done"
E--enjoying life. Goes right along with my word of the year--delight. I am trying to take time to enjoy the little things, especially concerning my boys, who won't be little forever.
Since I feel too lousy today to get much cleaning done (I have a horrible cough and feel all stuffy), I decided to get some work done. Here's the February projects for my Word Puzzle Club--everything is using February's Word Puzzle set. I love these stamps! So many cute images in one set :)
I posted the calendar before, but I wanted everything in the same place. This is the calendar and Right page of the layout.
Here's the Left page
Cards 1 & 2--Blush, Baby Pink and Chocolate
Cards 3 & 4--Cranberry and Black--these were cards that were done at CTMH Regionals. Mine look a little different because I wasn't in the group that did them there, so I re-created them at home.
